February 13, 2026 —– Chart #337
Hello Music Friends,
Welcome to another edition of Chart of the week. There are two kinds of people in this world:
- The kind who see a volcano and think, “Cool! Let’s build a condo with an ocean view.”
- The kind who see a volcano and think, “Cool! Let’s build an exit plan with a cooler full of beer.”
Jimmy Buffett was firmly in Camp #2, and he wrote a song about it.
“Volcano” came out on Buffett’s 1979 album, also called Volcano, recorded on the island of Montserrat. The album (and the title track) were inspired by the then-dormant Soufrière Hills—which, as it turned out, was basically a sleeping dog that eventually woke up in a very big way.
Who wrote it, and when did it hit?
Songwriting credit goes to Buffett along with Coral Reefer Band mates Keith Sykes and Harry Dailey. The single was released in November 1979, produced by Norbert Putnam.
Chart-wise, “Volcano” did just fine for a song whose central message is basically “I’m leaving… possibly forever… and I’m not even packing neatly.” It peaked at #66 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #43 on Adult Contemporary.
The vibe: tropical grooves + hilariously practical paranoia
Musically, it’s that sweet Buffett cocktail: a calypso/reggae-leaning groove with a grin on its face and a sensible man underneath quietly scanning the horizon for ash clouds.
Lyrically, Jimmy turns disaster preparedness into something you can sing with a margarita in your hand. That’s a rare gift. Most “evacuation planning” comes in the form of a laminated card in a hotel room. Buffett made it a singalong.
And here’s one of my favorite weird-but-true footnotes: the song got especially popular on radio in the Pacific Northwest in spring 1980—right around the time the ground was getting cranky before Mount St. Helens blew its top.
So yes, somewhere out there, a DJ was essentially saying, “Up next: the soundtrack to your upcoming geological problems.”
The “who’s on the record” fun
The Coral Reefer Band is all over this era, and the credits are classic Buffett-world: serious musicianship, plus at least one credit that reads like somebody’s job description was just “good vibes and whatever’s needed.” (That’s not a joke—those credits are real.)
What it’s like to play
From a guitarist’s standpoint, “Volcano” is a groove song more than a “fancy chords” song. If you can lock into an easy island strum, keep your right hand relaxed, and let the rhythm section in your imagination do the heavy lifting, you’re in business.
The trick is not speed or complexity—it’s feel:
- Keep it buoyant (don’t stomp it like a bar-band “Sweet Home Alabama”).
- Think “backbeat,” a little air between the strokes.
- And if you sing it, commit to the storytelling—because half the charm is that Jimmy sounds like he’s smiling while making a completely rational decision to flee.
Because really… if the mountain starts smoking, I’m not “monitoring the situation.” I’m heading for the boat drinks.
Keep Rockin’,
Stan Bradshaw